Iran may charge seamen as spies

Britain refused access to captives

Blair calls seizure `unjustified'

March 26, 2007|By Tom Hundley, Tribune foreign correspondent

LONDON — Iran's seizure of 15 British sailors and marines three days ago appeared to be spiraling toward a full-blown diplomatic crisis Sunday after Iranians signaled that the captives could be tried for espionage.

Amid reports that the 15 Britons had been taken to Tehran, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Sunday that Iranian officials were refusing to tell British Ambassador Geoffrey Adams where the captives were being held or to allow him access to them.

The 15 were seized at gunpoint while conducting routine inspections of cargo ships off the coast of Iraq. Iran claims the British sailors had unlawfully strayed into Iranian territorial waters. The commander of the HMS Cornwall insists that all of his sailors and vessels were in Iraqi waters.

On Sunday, he was backed up by Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"It is simply not true that they went into Iranian territorial waters, and I hope the Iranian government understands how fundamental an issue this is for us," Blair said.

"We have certainly sent the message back to them very clearly indeed. They should not be under any doubt at all about how seriously we regard this act, which is unjustified and wrong," said the prime minister, adding that he wanted the crisis "resolved in as easy and diplomatic a way as possible."

But that opportunity seemed to be slipping away. A Web site associated with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Britons could be charged with espionage.

"If that is proved, they can expect a very serious penalty because according to Iranian law, espionage is one of the most serious offenses," the Web site said.

Tehran under pressure

The incident comes at a tense time in Western relations with Iran. The UN Security Council voted unanimously Saturday to impose stiff new sanctions on Iran in response to Tehran's refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment program.

The U.S. government, which in recent weeks has beefed up its naval presence in the Persian Gulf, has accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of supplying and supporting Shiite insurgent groups that have been attacking American forces in Iraq.

Five Iranians believed to be associated with the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force were arrested by U.S. troops in northern Iraq in January and remain in U.S. custody.

The London-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper reported in its English editions Sunday that Iran hoped to exchange the 14 British men and one woman for the five Iranians.

According to the Saudi-owned paper, the Revolutionary Guards submitted a plan to Iran's supreme military command to abduct U.S. and British troops in order to exchange them for the Iranians. But the plan was put on hold while high-level talks continued between senior Iraqi and Iranian officials.

The Iraqis apparently gave assurances that the Iranians would be released before Persian New Year celebrations March 21, but when that failed to happen, the Iranians activated their plan, the newspaper reported.

Officials in Iran have not commented on a prisoner swap.

In 2004, eight British sailors were taken captive in a similar incident. They appeared blindfolded on British television and were subjected to mock executions before they were freed after three days.

Fears of prolonged crisis

There were growing fears in London on Sunday that given the political climate, this crisis could drag out.

Militant student groups in Iran have demonstrated in favor of holding the British captives until the U.S. releases its Iranian prisoners and the UN reverses its decision on the sanctions.

Iran's government also seemed to be digging in its heels, with a spokesman for the military claiming Sunday that the captives had "confessed" to acts of aggression in Iranian waters and that they were now facing prosecution.

The British Foreign Office tried to downplay those concerns.

David Triesman, a senior Foreign Office minister, said he had received assurances from Tehran that British sailors were not being held hostage to Britain's vote in support of the UN sanctions.

"Our view is that these things are not linked," he said on British television.

"I've been very clear throughout that British forces do not ever intentionally enter into Iranian waters. There's no reason for them to do so, and we don't intend to do so, and I think people should accept that there's good faith in those assertions," he said.

The European Union also added its voice to the calls for a diplomatic solution.